Control for outboard motors



H. P. HENRY CONTROL FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS Aug. 14, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed June 14, 1947 m 0 z. 0O H 5 6 H...... w w 3 6 Hm 6 8 F 2 1% 9 a wM D1 .u II. T a Fr 0 w o n 5 6 C I I .J M I I 0 u .5 2

no I 3 5 5 W 1. ll P m m I 5 1 O v 1 mm 2M0 2 0 n3 6 mm 0 I l |l|| l- M2 v w a m m. M a e m m fw m E Q TMIM ATTOR EYJ Patented Aug. 14, 1951CONTROL FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS Howarth PadgettHenry, Shepperton-on-Thames,England Application June 14, 1947, Serial No. 754,739 In Great BritainApril 25, 1945 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expiresApril 25, 1965 9 Claims.

This invention relates to controls for internal combustion engines ofthe outboard type, such as are used for the propulsion of small boats,adapted to be secured to the transom of a boat by means 01 a clamp orother receiving means, the engine as a Whole being mounted for angularmovement about a substantially vertical axis and being provided with atiller lever by which it is turned'about said axis to alter the thrustline of the propeller relative to the fore and-aft axis of the boat, andso to steer the boat.

In engines of this type the manipulation of the controls for startingand slow running is frequently a very complicated operation, so thatstarting proves rather diflicult to many users, andthe object of thepresent inventionis to provide a simplified control having a progressivemovement between positions governing the various phases of engineoperation.

According to the invention, in an internal combustion engine of the typereferred to, the tiller lever is movable relative to the engine in avertical plane between two extreme positions, in one of which the engineis inoperative, and in the other of which the engine is in condition forrunning at full speed, the tiller lever passing, in moving from thefirst extreme position to the second, through successive intermediatepositions providing settings of the air and fuel supply to the engineappropriate for starting, warming up and idling of the engine, followedby positions for driving at progressively increasing speed as the leverapproaches the full speed position. The lever or equivalent may, inpassing between the idling and driving positions, actuate a clutch inthe transmission from the engine.

The tiller lever may be interconnected with a petrol tank vent closureand a petrol cock, and may be adapted to close the said closure and cookwhen moved to the extreme position in which the engine is inoperative.

The tiller lever preferably moves downwardly towards a horizontalposition as it moves from the position at which the engine isinoperative to the full speed position.

The lever or equivalent may be associated with a scale, or may operatean indicator, to show the condition. of the engine corresponding to anyposition of the lever.

The invention is hereinafter described with 2 reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a somewhat diagrammatic side view of an outboard motor boatengine, looking from the port side, the control being shown in thefull-speed position;

Figure 2 is a similar side the starboard side;

Figure 3 is a view of the control lever and its shaft, looking from thefront of the engine, and showing the connections of the various controlsto the said shaft;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the control lever;

Figure 5 is a developed view of the quadrant associated with the controllever;

Figure 6- is a fragmentary view of part of Figure 1 with some partsremoved; and

Figure '7 is a view similar to Figure 6 of a part of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, the engine, which is of the two-stroke type,comprises a single cylinder l0 mounted on a crankcase II in which ismounted a vertical crankshaft.

On the upper end of the crankshaft is mounted a flywheel l2, above whichis a pulley l3 to receive a starting cord by means of which the engineis rotated for starting, the flywheel incorporating a flywheel magnetoof known type to supply electric current for ignition. A tube I 4projecting downwardly from the crankcase ll houses an extension of thecrankshaft, and terminates at its lower end in a bevel gear casing (notshown) containing the bevel gear by which the drive is transmitted tothe propeller shaft, and containing also a clutch, such as a frictionclutch, by means of which the drive to the propeller may be interrupted.This tube passes through a sleeve 15, in which it is supported bysuitable bearings, the sleeve being formed with a forwardly projectinglug It to which is bolted a clamp ll for attaching the engine to thetransom of a boat.

The exhaust'system of the engine comprises an expansion chamber 29mounted below the cylinder It and leading into an outlet pipe whichextends below the surface of the water. A petrol tank 2| is carried bysuitable brackets 22 bolted to the upper side of the engine cylinder.

A pair of spaced forwardly projecting brackets view looking from 3 23and 24 are bolted to the crankcase II, the bracket 23 carrying aquadrant 25 which is provided with a flange 26 on its curved edge. Ashaft 21 is journalled in the brackets 23 and 24 at the centre ofcurvature of the quadrant 25, and carries a hand lever 36 by which itmay be moved angularly through about 90, the lever 30 being positionedclosed to the edge of the flange 26 on the quadrant. Mounted on theshaft 21 are a number of arms and cams which are operatively connectedto the various controls of the engine as described below, these,proceedin outwardly from the centre of the shaft, being, on the portside, a cam 3| for controlling the clutch; an arm 32 for controlling theadvance and retard of the ignition; and an arm 33 for controlling anexhaust cut-out; and, on the starboard side, a cam 34 for controllingthe throttle and the petrol tank air vent; and an arm 35 for controllinga choke on the air inlet to the carburettor.

Dealing first with the port side of the engine, the cam 3|, as shown inFigures 1 and 6 has a profile including dwell portions 36 and 31,connected by a lift portion 38, the dwell portion of smaller radiusengaging the follower lever 46 during initial movement of the lever fromthe vertical position (shown in chain dotted lines in Figure 1) and thelift portion 38 engaging with the follower lever at about the middle ofthe lever stroke to transfer the said follower 40 to the dwell portion31 of larger radius, with which it engages during the remainder of thelever stroke. The follower lever 40 is pivoted at 4| on a bracketcarried by the engine cylinder H], and is pivotally connected,intermediate its ends, to a rod 42 which extends downwardly to the bevelgear casing to operate the clutch. The arm 32 is connected by a rod43 tothe advance-andretard mechanism of the flywheel magneto. This mechanismknown per Se is not shown, but the lug 44 to which the rod 43 isconnected is attached to the movable part of the said mechanism.

The arm 33 is connected by a rod 45 to an arm 46 mounted on the side ofthe expansion chamber 26, and controlling an exhaust cut-out which isopen when the lever 36 is in a position for starting the engine, toprovide a direct outlet from the expansion chamber to the atmosphere,

and thus to avoid the back pressure due to the normal under-water outletof the exhaust.

Coming now to the starboard side, the cam 34, as shown in Figures 2 and'7, has a profile giving at 4! a sharp lift of small magnitude duringinitial movement of the lever 30 from the vertical position, followed bya short dwell at 48, at the end of which the contour falls somewhat tothe beginning of a continuous lift portion 49. The cam 34 is engaged byone end of a follower lever 56 which is pivotally mounted, between itsends, on the plunger 5| controlling the throttle valve in thecarburettor 52, the other end of the lever 50 engaging with the stem 53of I a spring-closed mushroom valve mounted in a pocket 54 projectingfrom the petrol tank. The valve in the pocket 54 controls an air vent inthe petrol tank 2| and also an air vent in the carburettor floatchamber. In the vertical position of the hand lever 3|], the followerlever 56 is at the lowest point of the cam, the fuel throttle plunger 5|is right down, in which position it closes the petrol inlet to thecarburettor, and the vent valve is closed by its spring. The throttleplunger is urged downwardly by a spring (not shown) stronger than thespring acting on the vent valve,

so that the latter valve can close only when the throttle plunger is atthe bottom of its strike. When the hand lever 36 is moved from itsvertical position, the sharp initial lift of the cam raises the throttleplunger slightly and opens the vent valve, and further movement of thelever raises the throttle plunger progressively, the vent valveremaining open.

The arm 35 is coupled by a rod 55 to an arm 56 controllin a choke 51 inthe air intake to the carburettor, the arrangement being such that theintake is highly restricted during the initial portion of the movementof the lever from the vertical position, the restriction being decreasedand finally eliminated as the lever is moved downwardly.

The flange 26 of the quadrant 25 is provided on its inner face with tworadially inwardly extending projections 60 and 6| (Figure 2), and thehand lever 36, as seen in Figure 4, is provided with a detent 62,carried by a rod 63 slidable longitudinally in the said lever, thedetent projecting laterally through a slot in the lever to engage withthe said projections. A spring 64 urges the rod 63 outwardly towards thefree end of the lever, the rod projecting beyond the said end of thelever to form a push button 65 by which the rod can be pushed inwardlyto move the dent 62 clear of the projections 60 and 6|. Instead of beingoperated by a rod in the manner above described, the detent may beoperated by an auxiliary lever mounted on the main lever, in a mannersimilar to the pawl commonly provided in connection with the handbrakelever of motor vehicles to co-operate with a ratchet for holding th saidlever in position.

The movement of the lever is thus divided into three sections, thesebeing (1) a very short section between the vertical position and theprojection 60; (2) a section, comprising an angular movement of about 40between the projections 66 and 6|; and (3) a section comprising an angleof about 45 between the projection 6| and the horizontal position. Topermit the lever to pass from one section to the next the push button 65must be depressed.

The three sections may be conveniently termed (1) the parked orinoperative position; (2) the starting range; and (3) the driving range.In the driving range, the lever 36 is acted upon by a spring loadedplunger 66 (see Figure 2), tending constantly to return it to the upperend of that range.

The outer face of the quadrant may be marked with suitable legends toindicate the positions in which the lever should be set for variouspurposes, suitable legends being as follows:

In the parked position, Stop.

In the starting range, reading downwardly from the projection 66 towardsthe projection 6|, Cold Start, Warm Start and Hot Start.

In the driving range, reading downwardly from the projection 6| to thehorizontal position, Idling, Half Speed, Full Speed.

These legends are shown in the developed view of the quadrant (Fig. 5),the positions of the projections 60 and 6| being indicated in dottedlines.

With the lever 36 in the vertical position, the petrol system iscompletely closed, and the engine can be removed from the boat, carried,and stored, without fear of leakage of petrol.

The engine is mounted in a boat by fitting the clamp I! over the transomand tightening it up. To start the engine, the push button 65 isdepressed to permit the detent 62 to pass the projection 60, and thelever is moved to one of the start positions, say the Cold Startposition, the one selected depending on whether or not the engine hasbeen running during the immediately preceding period.

This movement of the lever 30 opens the petrol tank and carburettorvents and moves the fuel throttle plunger 5| to open the connection fromthe petrol tank to the carburettor, and sets the ignition to a suitabledegree of retardation for starting; the exhaust cut out is held open,the clutch disengaged and the choke closed. The lever is held in therequired position by one hand of the operator, whilst the starting cord,previously Wound on the pulley I3, is pulled with the other hand tostart the engine. By holding the lever, the operator resists the torqueapplied to the engine by the starting cord. According to Whether thelever is set to Gold Start, Warm Start, Hot Start, the throttle opening,choke position, and ignition setting are varied to en sure suitableconditions for starting.

When the engine is running, the button 65 is again depressed, and thelever 30 moved past the projection Bl to the idling position, thefurther movement adjusting the various settings to a suitable positionfor idling, and closing the exhaust cut-out. As the lever 30 moves tothis position, the follower lever 50 moves off the dwell portion of thecam 34, thus closing the fuel throttle 5| to some extent. Further,movement of the lever from the idling position first brings the followerlever M! on to the lift portion 38 of the cam 3| to engage the clutch,and opens the throttle progressively, the propeller then being driven tobring about movement of the boat. The speed increases as the lever ismoved downwardly, the fuel throttle and air choke being progressivelyopened. Once the lever 30 has passed the projection 6|, it is engaged bythe spring loaded plunger 66, which tends constantly to return it to theidling position. The lever must therefore be held down to keep the boatmoving, and, if it is released, the drive will be disconnected byrelease of the clutch, and the engine brought back to the idlingposition.

In the idling position, the lever is at an angle of about 45 to thehorizontal, and, as it moves towards the full speed position, itapproaches more nearly to the horizontal, so that it may conveniently beused as a tiller to adjust the position of the engine, and steer theboat, the angular arrangement preferably being such that the engine canbe turned through 180 to drive the boat in the reverse direction.

The engine may, with advantage, be enclosed in a streamlined or othercasing, the lever 30 projecting through a slot on one side of which thelegends indicating the positions of the lever are marked. Alternatively,the shaft 21 may project from one side of the casing and have the lever30 mounted on its projecting end, a suitable independent indicator beingprovided in association with an index or pointer coupled to the shaft.

The above description is given purely by way of example, and the actualcontrol elements to which the lever is connected will vary with the typeof engine with which it is employed, the main feature of the inventionbeing the provision of a single control member, appropriate movement ofwhich sets the control elements to any required position.

What I claim is:

1. In an outboard motor of the internal combustion type including aframe member adapted to be secured to a'boat and a propulsion unithingedly secured to said frame member, said propulsion unit including apropeller, clutch means for transmitting power to said propeller, achoke, a fuel tank having an air vent, spark ignition means includingmechanism for advancing and retarding the spark, an exhaust linenormally discharging the exhaust gases below the surface of the waterand including an atmospheric cut-out, and a carburetor including athrottle valve, a valve stem therefor, and a float chamber air vent;means for realizing eificient performance of said motor under a varietyof operating conditions, said means comprising: a horizontally disposedshaft rotatably mounted on said propulsion unit, a tiller secured tosaid shaft and rotatable therewith through approximately a quartercircle, a first crank secured to said shaft, first connecting meansbetween said first crank and said choke to actuate the latter,

"a first cam on said shaft, a first follower rod actuated at its one endby said first cam and pivotcd at said valve stem, a first spring urgingsaid valve stem downwardly into the closed position, valve means closingsaid fuel tank air vent and said carburetor fioat chamber air vent, saidvalve means supporting the other end of said first follower, a secondspring urging said valve means upwardly into the closed position, saidfirst spring being stronger than said second spring, a second camsecured to said shaft, a second cam follower interconnecting said secondcrank and said clutch means, a second crank secured to said shaft,second connecting means between said second crank and said mechanism foradvancing and retarding the spark, a third crank secured to said shaft,third connecting means between said third crank and said atmosphericcut-out in said exhaust line, and means for setting said tiller at aplurality of stations in a vertical plane between its limits ofrotation, each of said stations representing a different operatingcondition.

2. In an outboard motor of the internal combustion type including aclamp member and a propulsion unit hingedly attached to said clampmember and rotatable about a substantially vertical axis, a plurality ofapparatuses influencing the operation of said propulsion unit andincluding a throttle control, a choke, clutch mechanism, spark timingmechanism and an underwater exhaust line including an atmosphericpressure relief Valve, and a tiller lever to turn said propulsion unit,means for adapting said tiller lever to control said plurality ofapparatuses simultaneously and in accordance with the requirements of aplurality of operating conditions, said means comprising: ahorizontally'disposed shaft member rotatably secured to said propulsionunit, said tiller lever secured to said shaft member and rotatabletherewith, means interconnecting said shaft member with each of saidplurality of apparatuses, a circular segment secured to said propulsionunit and concentric with said shaft member, a pair of projections onsaid segment dividing the same into a first, second, and third sector, amovable detent carried by said tiller lever to'maintain said leverwithin one of said sectors, said lever, when vertically disposed in saidfirst sector, positioning said connecting means to close said throttlecontrol and thereby stop said propulsion unit, said lever, when in saidsecond sector, positioning said connecting means so that said propulsionunit may warm up at no load, wherein said clutch is disengaged and saidpressure relief valve is open, said lever, when in said third sector,positioning said connecting means to connect said clutch andprogressively open up said throttle as said lever is moved downwardly,and spring means acting on said lever when in said third sector torotate said lever upwardly.

3. A control system for an outboard motor of the internal combustiontype including a frame member, a propulsion unit hingedly attached tosaid frame member, a throttle control, a choke, spark timer mechanism,an exhaust line, an atmospheric cut-out in said exhaust line, a driveshaft, a propeller, a clutch between said drive shaft and saidpropeller, control means for adjusting said throttle control, saidchoke, said spark timer mechanism and said atmospheric cut-out, othercontrol means for engaging and disengaging said clutch, and means forobtaining eflicient performance of said motor under a plurality ofoperating conditions, said means comprising: a horizontally disposedshaft member rotatably secured to said propulsion unit, a tiller mountedon said shaft member and rotatable therewith, means limiting thevertical displacement of said tiller between a substantially verticalposition and a substantially horizontal position, means for setting saidtiller at a plurality of stations intermediate said limiting positions,each of said stations representing a different operating condition, andmeans carried by said shaft member and interconnected with said controlmeans and Said other control means for adjusting said throttle control,said choke, said spark timer mechanism and said atmospheric cut-out andengaging and disengaging said clutch in accordance with the requirementsof said operating conditions.

4. An outboard motor comprising the combination with an engine, a clampmember hinged to said engine, a propeller, driving connections including a clutch, and means for adjusting the operation of said engine,of a first bracket secured to said engine and including aquadrant-shaped portion, said portion having a peripheral flange, asecond bracket secured to said engine, a shaft member journalled by saidbrackets, a tiller lever secured to said shaft member, graduations onsaid peripheral flange to represent the desired setting of said enginewhen stopped, started and warmed up, idled, and operating at variousspeeds up to and including maximum speed, connecting means actuated bysaid shaft member to set said adjusting means in accordance with saidgraduations as said lever is aligned therewith, whereby movement of saidtiller lever in a horizontal direction swings said engine relative tosaid clamp member to vary the direction of the slip stream of saidpropeller, and whereby rotating said tiller lever in a vertical planecontrols the operation of said engine.

5. An outboard motor of the internal combustion type comprising a clampmember adapted to be secured to a boat, a propulsion unit hingedlyfastened to said clamp member, means for controlling the operation ofsaid propulsion unit, a tiller lever secured to said propulsion unit andlocked against horizontal movement to swing said propulsion unitrelative to said boat, means for rotating said lever in a substantiallyvertical plane, a member carried by said lever and rotatable therewith,a quadrant fixed to said propulsion unit and concentric with saidmember,

means for setting said lever at a plurality of stations along theperiphery of said quadrant, each of said stations representing adifferent type of motor operating condition, means actuated by saidmember when said lever is set at each of said stations to adjustindividually said means for controlling the operation of said propulsionunit commensurate with the eflicient performance of said motor at thecorresponding operating condition.

6. The combination with a propulsion unit for a boat or the like,including a choke, throttle control means and spark timing mechanism, ofa lever projecting from said unit and rotatable in a substantiallyvertical plane, said lever locked against horizontal movement withrespect to said unit, means for limiting the rotation of said lever in avertical plane between two extreme positions, other means for settingsaid lever at a plurality of stations intermediate said extremepositions, each of said stations representing a different operatingcondition at which said unit may be set, and mechanism between saidlever and, respectively, said choke, said throttle control means andsaid spark timing mechanism, to adjust each independently of the otherto obtain an adjustment thereof commensurate with each of said operatingconditions.

7. An outboard motor of the internal combustion type comprising thecombination with a tiller lever and a propulsion unit movable by saidtiller lever, 'said propulsion unit including control apparatus foroperating the same, of means for moving said tiller lever in'a verticalplane, other means actuated by vertical movement of said tiller leverpositioning said control apparatus, means limiting vertical movement ofsaid tiller lever between two extreme positions, in one of which saidother means sets said control apparatus to stop said propulsion unit andin the other of which said other means sets said control appa ratus tooperate said propulsion unit at full speed, said tiller lever passing,in moving from said one extreme position to said other extreme position,through successive intermediate positions providing settings of saidcontrol apparatus appropriate for starting, warming up and idling saidpropulsion unit, followed by positions for driving said propulsion unitat progressively increasing speed as said lever approaches said otherextreme position.

8. An outboard motor comprising the combination with a propulsion unit,means for hingedly securing said unit to a boat or the like, apropeller, and means for adjusting the rate at which said propulsionunit drives said propeller, of a bracket secured to said engine andincluding a quadrant-shaped portion, a rotatable member journalled bysaid bracket, a tiller lever secured to said rotatable member,graduations on said portion to represent the desired setting of saidengine when stopped and when operating at various speeds up to andincluding maximum speed, connecting means actuated by said rotatablemember to set said adjusting means in accord: ance with said graduationsas said lever is aligned therewith, whereby movement of said lever in ahorizontal direction steers said boat or the like, and whereby rotatingsaid tiller lever in a vertical plane controls the operation of saidengine.

9. An outboard motor comprising the combination with a propulsion unitand means for controlling the speed at which said propulsion unitoperates, of a tiller lever extending from said propulsion unit, meansfor turning said tiller lever in a substantially vertical plane, meansinterconnecting said tiller lever and said control means of saidpropulsion unit to increase the speed of said unit as said lever isdisplaced downwardly, and means for selectively setting said tillerlever at one of a plurality of stations at each of which said propulsionunit operates at a difierent speed.

HOWARTH PADGETT HENRY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Number 10 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Clay Aug. 15, 1916 Bivert Apr.2, 1918 Martin Oct. 23, 1923 Johnson Sept. 22, 1931 Irgens Oct. 31, 1933Irgens Feb. 23, 1937 Higgins Aug. 26, 1941 Pozgay Nov. 19, 1946

